The Next Day
by randomacts
Summary: Takes place the day following the Dark Angel book "After the Dark." Max has found her mother with Lydecker's help. ML
1. The Day After

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel. I could never even aspire to create something like this.  
  
Peace. That's what Max felt when she woke up that morning. Total and complete peace. White was dead, and maybe with some luck Lydecker was going to help her find her birth mother. Then she remembered where she was, that little motel on the side of the road on the way back to Seattle.   
  
She roled over and held Logan close to her. It was all over. Her enemies were gone and she was finally free to live her life. Max had finally gotten her man. She stared at Logan while he slept and all she could do was smile. Two years it had been since they'd met. Two years of so much tension you could cut it with a knife. They were finally together though, and in this end, that's all that really matter.  
  
Max felt Logan start to stir. Before his eyes even opened a smile appeared across his face. Unlike her, he knew exactly where he was and what had happened the night before. Two years of tension and love had culminated in the most passionate night of love making. It had been damn near a religious experience for the both of them, a moment in time neither of them would ever forget.   
  
"Morning. Did you sleep at all last night?" Logan asked as he rolled towards her and kissed her gently.   
  
Max felt him shift so he could turn his lower body towards her along with the rest of him. His exoskeleton allowed him to walk, but without it, he was still very much paralyzed.   
  
Max smiled and reached her hand out to Logan's face, running her index finger from his forehead to the tip of his chin. "Yes, I slept. I slept like it was the last sleep I was ever going to get. I sense I'll be sleeping alot more now I suspect, if you're able to keep that up." She giggled a little as she said that.   
  
"We should probably get out of here soon and get back to Seattle and Terminal City. The war may be over, but we still have people to protect. Besides, now that we have all the time in the world, I'd like to enjoy this at home." Max startled herself a little with that last word. Home. Where was home. She'd spent the past year of her life trying to stay as far from Logan as she could for fear she'd accidently kill him if they touched. Now with the virus gone they were finally together, but home may have been too strong a word to use, seeing as how they didn't actually have a home together.  
  
Logan must have picked up on her thoughts because he shook his head a little and smiled. "Home is right. As soon as we get back and make sure everyone's back safely, we're gonna move you out of terminal city and into my apartment. That is, if you want to."  
  
Max leaned over to Logan and kissed him. Softly at first, then a little more passionately. "Believe me, that is most definately what I want."  
  
With that she hopped out of bed and started looking for her clothes. They'd definately seen better days. She may have had a shower the night before, but they'd have to get back to the city for her to finally feel clean. Max didn't take her eyes off of Logan the entire time it took her to get dressed. She was afraid if she quit looking that it might all vanish.   
  
"When you're done getting dressed can you bring over my exoskeleton?" Logan asked as he pulled himself up in the bed. Normally when he went to bed he left it within reach but he'd been in a hurry last night and it was just out of reach at the end of the bed. He felt kinda stupid for doing that, since it left him basically left him helpless.   
  
That thought actually made him smile even bigger. He sure hadn't seemed very helpless without his exoskeleton last night. With a little help from Max, he's done things he didn't even know where possible anymore. "I love you"  
  
"I love you too, Logan. I always have. I'm just sorry that it took me so long to tell you."  
  
"Forget the past Max, it's over. We're together now, that's what matters. Now hand me that exoskeleton so we can get out of here.  
  
About 3 hours later they were safely back in Seattle, more specifically Terminal City. They were now in Max's room packing up what few things she had there to move to Logan's apartment. They'd been given a standing ovation by a good majority of the residents when Logan pulled his Aztec through the gate. Everyone else had driven straight back last night, except Max and Logan. No one was really worried when they didn't arrive, since it was pretty obvious that they had things that needed to be settled, and for all that the Terminal City residents were their friends, being around them tended to interupt them, even if b accident Now, they were surrounded by their friends. All of the transgenics were talking about the fight the night before. It had gone amazingly well. The leaders of the snake cult were gone, only a few members had survived, and everyone was pretty sure they wouldn't be hearing from them again any time soon. White had met a particularly bad end. Joshua had ripped his head right off his body. They'd left him there to burn with the asylum. A fitting end.   
  
"So, it looks like we're done here. Who's carrying boxes?"   
  
Joshua and Alec raised their hands.  
  
"Well then, lets get this done so we can celebrate."  
  
Max, Logan, and the two other transgenics made their way to the entrance to the tunnel that connected Logan, and now Max's, apartement to Terminal City.  
  
"I kinda feel like I'm abandoning them Logan, moving out of Terminal City. I know I'm still gonna be right here, but it feels like I'm betraying them by moving outside of the fence."  
  
"You're not abandoning them at all. I'll bet pretty soon they'll start moving on. Maybe not some of the stranger looking ones, but I can see most of the X-5s moving out soon enough. Besides, you're only a couple minutes away, especially with the way you guys can move"   
  
Logan leaned in and kissed her. He was so happy he could barely contain himself. Finally, they were together. Now she was moving in with him. He wondered if he'd pushed her to fast, moving her in with him basically on their first date. He shook his head, trying to clear that thought.  
  
"What is it Logan, something wrong?"  
  
"No, for once nothing is wrong. I'm just trying to not over think or over analyze anything. I'm happy, happier than I've ever been in my life. I have almost everything I could ever ask for."  
  
"And what don't you have?"  
  
"I think you know. But we'll talk about that later. Right now, you're going to unpack, then I'm going to cook you our first dinner together in OUR apartment."  
  
TBC 


	2. Lunch

Disclaimer: I don't own them  
  
A/N: All I can say about this is that I know where I'm going in my head. Hopefully I won't have trouble getting there. Let me know if you like it, and if you have an idea to throw at me, don't hesitate. I'm infamous among my friends for staggering cases of writers block.  
  
Max looked around the room, taking it all in. She'd spent so much time avoiding coming here when she had to worry about that virus that it seemed strange that now she was home. The last week had been a long one. Finding out that the virus was gone, Logan's kidnapping, White's final demise, it was so much to take in. Now it was over. She knew that there were still Conclave members out there, but the Coming had passed and no one had died. They were probably going to be hiding with their tails between their legs for quite some time.  
  
"Logan? You hiding?"  
  
"I'm in here Max. Just straightening up a little bit" Logan came rolling out of his office. Max looked at him a little confused, wondering what he was doing in the wheelchair. Logan smiled at the look of confusion on her face. "It's been a long week, I thought I'd just sit and relax. The exoskeleton is a lifesaver, but I have to admit, sometimes it's a little exhausting."  
  
Max grinned. 'He's finally starting to relax a little bit. It's about damned time,' she thought as she walked over to him. She ruffled his already wild hair with her hand. "Doesn't bother me any. How about some lunch before I go have some words with our dear friend Lydecker?"  
  
"I think there is some leftover chicken and mashed potatoes in the fridge, want me to heat them up?"  
  
"Sounds great. So, do you think he really knows where she is? Or is he just jerking me around again. I swear, if he's lying, I'm just gonna kill him and be done with it."  
  
Logan chuckled a little. "I don't think you'll ever actually do that you know. You've had more than a few chances to if you were actually going to kill him."  
  
Max frowned. She knew that Logan was probably right, but that didn't mean he had to point that fact out to her. Right now all she cared about was knowing if it was true. Her heart was set on meeting the woman who had fought to keep her, who she knew in her heart loved her, even if she'd never laid eyes on her. Now that the big battles were over and she was finally free, she was going to find that woman, her mother.   
  
"Whatever. Let's eat so I can go kick some Lydecker ass." Max moved one of the chairs from the table so that Logan would have room then started setting plates and utensils on the table. She watched as Logan pulled the food out of the fridge and stuck it in the microwave. "Are you planning on coming with me, or are you going to get straight back to work?"   
  
"I don't know, do you want me to come?" Logan knew that this was very important to her, but he wasn't sure if she wanted him with her. He knew what type of man that Lydecker could be, but he wasn't so sure that this might not have been a big lie just to save his own hide.   
  
"Come then." Max looked at Logan. He reached up and pulled the platter of chicken and potatoes out of the microwave.   
  
"Let's eat, then we'll head back to Terminal City. Do you know what building they're holding him in?"  
  
Logan put the platter in his lap and rolled over to the table. He dished the food onto the plates Max had put out then set it on the table. Max   
  
"Yeah, I talked to Mole this morning while you were still sleeping. They've got him locked in a room at the command center. None of them are willing to let him out of their sight, even if he is still pretty well busted up. The medics have had a look at him, he's not gonna die, but he's not gonna be up to running any time soon either. Mole's still not taking any chances. I think he's afraid if he messes this one up, I'll actually kick his ass like I've been threatening too."  
  
"Well, then as soon as we're done eating, we'll head over and let them off the hook." Logan took another bite. "No need to keep Lydecker waiting anymore, I'm sure he's wondering what's taken you so long to talk to him anyway."  
  
They finished their meal in silence, never taking their eyes off each other. When they finished Max picked up the plates and took them to the sink. Logan wheeled out of the room to put on his exoskeleton so that they could go.   
  
He came back about ten minutes later to find Max sitting on his sofa. "You ready to go?"  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be. Let's get this bitch over with." 


	3. Where is She?

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel. The name Sarah Frantz was taken from two of my greatgrandmothers however, so I do have some claim to that.  
  
Lydecker roled over on the cot he was laying on and smiled. "You took longer than I thought to get here. I figured you'd be interogating me as soon as they got me back here."  
  
Max looked at Logan and smiled. "I had some things to take care of first. Now spill, do you really know how I can find my mother, or was that just another of your little schemes?"  
  
"I have the information. Her name is Sarah, Sarah Frantz. She was 17 when she came to Manitcore, a choice she made to avoid spending time in juvenile detention. She was apparently a rather unsucessful thief prior to that point. Seems you had it in you to be a thief before Manticore ever manipulated one gene in your DNA strand. She didn't know when she came to us what we planned, but the judge let her decide. She could spend the next year in a juvenile center and be on probabtion until she was 21 or she could spend a year with us and earn some money in the process. She didn't fight when we told her she would be acting as a surogate mother. She didn't fight when we did the in vitro fertilization. She didn't fight at all until she heard your heartbeat for the first time. That's when she decided she had to get away. She tried multiple times to escape, and she almost made it once, just before you were born. How a nine months pregant woman made it past the perimeter fence, we never found out. When you were born she begged us to let her keep you. After that, she never spoke again. She was basically catatonic from then on. We did everything we could to bring her back, but she wouldn't come out of it. When it was time for us to release her, we did. She was sent to a mental health facility not to far from Manticore. She was still there as of when I was captured by the Conclave."   
  
Max just sat there while Lydecker talked, taking in the words that he said. He had known where she was this entire time and he'd never said a word about it. Sarah Frantz, so that's who my mother is. And she's been so close this whole time.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me? You've been claiming to be helping me for over a year now and you just let me go on thinking only God knows what about who she was. How could you do that, knowing it was so important to me."  
  
Lydecker sighed, "I planned to tell you, I never ment to keep it so long. First I thought you'd been killed during the Manticore raid. That's when I made contact with Sarah again. I wanted to tell her what had happened to you, but my heart wouldn't let me. Even I couldn't believe that you were really dead. After you escaped and the Conclave started hunting down the transgenics, I knew it was too big a risk. Then I was captured, and there was no way for you to be told. I was afraid that the secret would die with me, in that hellhole of theirs. When you came into that cell a few days ago, I knew it was time. I wasn't sure if you'd believe me, and I was right." Lydecker looked at Logan and continued. "If you'll go do an internet search on the Wyoming State Hosptial's mental health facility, you should be able to get all you need to be able to see her. I've already had you listed in her file as her daughter. I did that after Manticore collapsed, of course I had you listed as Rachel Glassier. The Conclave never found her, but I didn't want to leave a trail."  
  
Max stared in awe at the man she'd spent most of her life hating. "Thank you." With that she stood and walked out of the room, Logan followed her out into the hallway. Stood there shaking for a moment, trying to take it all in. Not only had Lydecker helped her, but he'd made it so easy. If she hadn't been sure that the government wanted rid of him more than they did of her at the moment, she might have thought it was another of his traps. With that she started to sob.   
  
Logan walked up behind her. He motioned for Jax and Fred to give them some space, then wrapped his arms around her holding her tightly. Max turned to face her, holding him as though she were trying to merge into him. Logan reach a hand to her face and wiped away her tears. Smiling at her he said, "So, you feel up for a little road trip? Assuming you can still stand the sight of me, I'll bet we can be on the road by dinner time?"  
  
"How about we leave first thing in the morning. I want to do this now more than anything, but I've been slack the last couple days, and I need to make sure Alec isn't running this place into the ground before I take off for who knows how long. I want to bring her back to Seattle. Do you think you could talk to Dr. Carr and see if we could find a hosptial here in the city that can take care of her. We don't know what state she'll be in, and...and....," and with that Max started crying again.  
  
Logan let her back down the hall to the command center. He settled her in a chair, then went to talk to Mole to see if they could get Alec to come down. "We're leaving in the morning for Gillette. Lydecker told us who and where Max's mother is. We're going to try to bring her back here, but we could be gone as long as a week."  
  
Mole chewed on the end of one of his cigars and grinned. "When we heard you were in with Lydecker I had Alec paged, told him to get his ass back to Terminal City. He should be here any minute. I think he's a little mad that Max didn't wait for him before she talked to him."  
  
"This particular conversation had nothing to do with Alec, he'll get over it. I'm gonna take Max home, have Alec come to the apartment as soon as he gets here. I'll explain it all to him, and make sure he's calmed down before I send him back."  
  
"Sure thing Logan, will do." Mole walked away shaking his head, thinking, 'for an ordianary that Logan isn't a half bad guy.'  
  
Logan walked over to a still visably upset Max. "Let's go home, Alec will be joining us soon. We'll talk to him, I'll make a few calls, then we can get packed. We'll leave first thing in the am. Okay?"  
  
Max stood up and took Logan's hand. "Okay."  
  
As they walked back to the building with the tunnel that led back to their home, neither spoke. Max tightened her grip on Logan's hand and he returned the gesture. As they entered the building Max had only one thought, 'For once, everything is going right.' 


	4. Friends

Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to Dark Angel, that's those poor fools from Fox who found it necessary to cancel it in the first place.  
  
A/N: This story is just flowing out of me right now, probably do to the fact that DA S1 has taken it's place as my current video obsession. I can't stand S2, so you'll have to forgive me if I tend to gloss over many of the characters from that season. Also, please forgive me if any scenes I write with Original Cindy are kinda short. I can't write dialogue for her, and I'm not gonna ruin a great character by writing crappy dialogue. Any suggests are welcome, and please review. Oh, and thank yous to idlehands452 and M/L Only for the reviews and encouragement.   
  
Alec knocked loudly on the door of Logan's apartment, Max and Logan's apartment. 'That's gonna take some getting used to,' he thought. Normally he would have just picked the lock and walked in, or just walked in if the door happened to be open, but since Max and Logan had just recently discovered that the virus was gone, he wasn't going to take any chances that he might see something that would scar him for life. The last thing he needed was to walk in on Max and Logan "gettin busy", to put it as Joshua would. Nope, that defintely wouldn't do.  
  
He knocked again. 'Where the hell are they, pull me away from a perfectly lovely blonde, just to leave me staring at a door. It's not enough that they talked to Lydecker without me, now they're just jerking me around.'   
  
It was then that Logan opened the door. "Sorry about that, Max has been kind of upset since we saw Lydecker. She's on the sofa." Logan glared at Alec just a bit. "So, be nice okay?"  
  
Alec smirked, "Am I ever anything but?"  
  
Alec walked into the living room area of the apartment and saw Max curled up on the sofa. "You ok Maxie? Heard you had a talk with Deck, find out anything good."  
  
"My mom's name is Sarah Frantz. She's at a mental hospital just outside Gillette, and has been since I was born. Lydecker has known the whole time." Another tear escaped Max's eye. "I've spent my whole life wondering about her, and the whole time, she's been so close."  
  
Max wiped the tears away and stood up. She paced across the room and back, coming to a halt in front of Alec. "Logan and I are heading out in the morning. We have no clue how long we'll be gone, we're gonna try to have her moved to a hosptial here in Seattle. You're in charge until we get back, no matter how long it takes. Got it?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean.."  
  
Max cut him off, "Yes, it's a perfectly fine idea. Manticore is gone, White is dead, the Conclave is hiding in the hills. Now is the perfect time to do this. If I wait, something is liable to go wrong and I'll never get to see her. Hell, Lydecker even took the time to have me listed in her file as her daughter under one of my aliases. It's perfect."  
  
"Ok Max, I'm in charge. Not that it matters much. Since the war ended, everyone pretty much does what they want, but it'll be good practice for when I win the election and take my council seat." Alec winked at Max, making her smile.   
  
"Good, you're dismissed then. Tell Joshua where I went, and tell him not to worry. Logan will take good care of me while we're gone." Max smiled her first real smile since she had gotten back from her visit with Lydecker. She knew Alec could hold down the fort here, no matter how long she had to be gone.   
  
"Sure thing. Bye Maxie, don't stay gone to long." Alec walked away, stopping for a second to whisper something to Logan before walking out the door.  
  
Even with her super human hearing Max couldn't understand what Alec whispered to Logan. She looked at Logan expectantly as he shut the door behind Alec, locking it.  
  
"He said I was a lucky man and took take care of you, since you're obviously curious. He's right you know. I am lucky. Still kind of pisses me off though, that we were cured for six months, but didn't know it. You know what that means right?" Logan had that smile on his face that always made Max's heart jump into her throat.  
  
"I think I can come up with something," she said as she pulled him into the bedroom.  
  
Five hours later they emerged from the bedroom, both glowing, carrying their bags for their trip. They'd finally gotten packed and now there was nothing left to do but wait until morning to leave.   
  
Logan was still in awe at the things Max could do to him with her body. He'd wondered many times over the past two years if he'd even be able to perform, but apparently he did well enough for Max. Logan just wished he could feel some of the things he'd watched her do. She didn't seem to mind though. Just thinking about earlier made him smile and his skin flush. 'Damn, two days with her and I'm acting like a teenager again.' Logan heard Max shuffling around in the kitchen.  
  
"Hungry Max? Want me to whip something up?"  
  
"Yes please. I was going to fix a sandwich, but we're out of bread. No need to run to the market if we're leaving town tomorrow. Looks like we have some steaks in here, better eat them so they don't go bad. No reason to waste a perfectly good piece of meat." Max giggled when she said that last sentence. 'Damn, I'm acting like a teenager.'  
  
"Do we have veggies for a salad? Steak and salad sounds good to me."  
  
"Yeah, I see lettuce, a tomatoe, and some mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms with the steak. I think that'll work."  
  
Logan headed into the kitchen and went to work. Forty five minutes later they were sitting at the table, devouring their steaks.   
  
"This is great Logan," Max said with a mouth full of steak. "You never seem to fail when it comes to cooking."  
  
"A man has to be talented with something, lucky for you, I can cook. Otherwise, we'd probably starve, since you can barely boil water."  
  
"I keep hoping maybe some of your talent will rub off on me. Guess something just don't rub off."  
  
"No, but luckily some things do," Logan said with a grin. "You gonna call Original Cindy before we go? Don't want her worrying about you, now do you?"  
  
"Ya know Logan, I totally forgot about her, I should have called her yesterday when we got home and let her know all was well, I'm suprised she hasn't been ringing my cell to death by now. I'll be back in a minute and wash up the dishes, I should go call her."  
  
Max got up and went into the bedroom. She came back twenty minutes later, laughing to herself.  
  
"Well, I know why Cindy didn't call me. She figured since this was the first time we could be alone together without you dying that it was in her best interest to leave us alone till I called her. She's cool with us being gone for a while, but she wants me to check in and let her know how it's going."  
  
Logan laughed, "Seems Cindy and everyone else had the same idea. Haven't you noticed that neither of our phones have rung in the past two days? I hadn't until you mentioned not talked to Cindy since we got back. Guess everyone figured if we were here alone trying to call was a moot point."  
  
"They're good friends, and I'm betting they've figured out we aren't being stupid anymore. Cindy's exact words were, 'it's about damned time boo.' I told her she was right."  
  
Logan smiled and walked over to Max, who was now washing up their dinner dishes. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck. "She's right you know." Logan released her and picked up a towel to start drying the dishes she'd just washed. When they were finished he took her hand. "Let's go to bed, we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." 


	5. Mom?

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel, someone else does. This is just me blowing off steam.  
  
A/N: Thanks for all the great feedback. It's definately great incentive to keep going. I'll probably be slowing down for a little while, my job just got totally out of hand today and figuring out what's going on with that will be taking up way too much of my time. Anyway, enjoy!  
  
The ride out of the city was fairly uneventful. Max was a little gittery about returning to Gillette. The last time she'd been in Wyoming was when they had taken down Manticore. She knew there wasn't anything to worry about, but the thought of being near there was still a little frightening.  
  
Logan could feel the tension in the car. "Are you okay Max. We don't have to do this now, we can always turn around and go home, do this later on."  
  
"No, we have to do this now. I've wanted this ever since I realized that children don't all come from a lab. I'll be ok. I'll be better once we know how she is and get her back to Seattle. You did have all of that arranged, right?"  
  
"Yes Max, Dr. Carr has arranged a place for her in the psych ward at Metro Medical. He's even got tranportation arranged, all we have to do is make the call and it's done."  
  
The rest of the drive was made in silence. Logan parked the car and got out, Max was lingering in the passenger. Logan walked around the Aztek and opened her door. "You coming?"  
  
"Yeah, let's go."  
  
Logan took Max's hand and they walked through the front doors of the hosptial. There was a woman sitting at the reception desk. Max walked up to her. "My name is Rachel Glassier, I'm here to see my mother."  
  
"Yes, we recieved a call yesterday that you would be here today. I'll just page your mother's doctor down here, and he can give you all the information and take you up to see her."  
  
Max paced across the lobby as the receptionist made her call. "So, this is it," she said to Logan.  
  
"Yep, this is it. You ready?"  
  
"Doesn't really matter at this point, it's done."  
  
A man in a lab coat walked into the lobby and over to where Max and Logan were standing. "Ms. Glassier I presume? I'm Dr. Franklin, your mother's doctor. If you'll follow me up to my office, I'll fill you in on her condition, then we'll go see her."  
  
Logan and Max followed the doctor to an elevator to the left of the lobby, the doctor pressed a button for the fifth floor. "I'm suprised you've never been to see your mother before this. She's been here for twenty one years now. We knew she had a child, but none of the staff here ever knew what happened to you."  
  
Max flinched at the doctor's comment. "I was adopted," she said flatly. "I didn't even know I had another mother until recently. I came as soon as I knew."  
  
"Follow me." The doctor led them into a plainly decorated office and gestured for them to sit down on a couch that was along the back wall, under a window.   
  
"I'm afraid there isn't a whole lot to tell. Your mother was brought to us twenty one years ago in a catatonic state. She has improved slightly, she will feed herself and does wander around her ward, sometimes she speaks, but the only thing she says is 'my baby'. I'm assuming she's speaking of you. I was told you want to move her to a facility in Seattle. I can't say that will do any good, but it certainly won't do her any more harm." Dr. Franklin stood up, "I'll take you to see her now."  
  
The doctor led them out of the room and down the hallway. There was a mesh door at the end of the hallway. Pressing an intercom button he said, "Dr. Franklin," and the door opened. He held it for them as they entered the ward. "Your mothers room is down here. Give me just a moment to check on her, then you may have your visit."  
  
Max stood there in silence, just outside her mothers room. Logan slide one of his arms around her waist, "It'll be fine Max. Don't worry."  
  
"I know."   
  
The doctor came back out of the room and motioned for them to enter. I'll be right here if you need anything. I can only let you see her for about fifteen minutes though. We have some paperwork that needs to be signed before we can arrange for her transfer."  
  
Logan looked at Max, "You want me to come in?"  
  
"I'll be ok Logan, you go make your phone call so we can get her moved asap, ok?"  
  
"Ok, I'll be right outside if you need me."  
  
With that Max entered the room. She saw a small woman with dark brown hair sitting in a chair in front of the window. Max walked over to her and sat down in the chair opposite the woman. "Hi Sarah, my name is Max. You probably don't recognize me, since I'm all grown up, but I'm your daughter. Can you look at me, please?"  
  
Sarah slowly turned her head to face Max. "My baby?"  
  
"Yes Sarah, I'm the baby they took from you. I've finally found you."  
  
"My baby?" The words came out as a hoarse whisper. "You're my baby?"  
  
"Yes, I am. I'm not a baby anymore though."  
  
"They took you, said you were dead."  
  
"I know, but I'm not. Just outside that door is a wonderful man, who has helped me arrange to take you back with us. We're going to help you get well. Once you're better, I'll tell you all about me, and my life. You can be my mother again, if you still want to be." Tears were falling down Max's cheeks as she said these words to this poor, frail woman who had given up her life for Max.  
  
"Yes, my baby." With that Sarah turned and looked back out of her window.  
  
Max sat there, looking at her mother, whom had once again slipped back into her catatonia. She knew that it would be hard work to pull her out of this state, but Sarah seemed willing to accept the idea.  
  
The door opened a few minutes later and Dr. Franklin poked his head in. "Ready to go?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll be right out." Max stood up and leaned over Sarah, hugging her closely. Sarah did not respond to the action. "It'll be ok mom, I love you." Releasing the woman, she turned and walked out the door. Max ran to Logan as soon as the door closed, throwing herself into his arms, holding him tightly.   
  
Logan held her in his arms, gently stroking her hair as she sobbed. "It's gonna be alright Max, everything is alright." He turned and looked at Dr. Franklin. "Can we take care of the paperwork tomorrow? I think Max needs a little time first, if that's alright."  
  
"Not a problem at all. Just give me a call when she's ready and we'll take care of everything."  
  
With that, Logan led Max back to the elevator and pushed the button to go down to the lobby. It felt as though if he were to let go of her she would just fall to the floor. When the doors opened on the ground floor, he led her out of the building and into the parking lot. Kissing her forehead he said, "Let's go to the hotel now."   
  
Max nodded and let go of her grip on him. Logan helped her into the car and fastened her seatbelt for her. Logan had never seen Max so distraught. It was a little unnerving that something like this seemed to take all her strength away from her. He started the car and drove them to a small, but nice hotel a few miles from the hospital. He left Max sitting in the car while he went to check them in. "You up to helping with the bags, or would you just like to go in and lie down?"  
  
"I can help. I'm sorry I fell apart like I did back there, but she just looked so sad. She talked to me Logan, she knew who I was. I can help make her better, I know it. Right now though, I just want to sleep."  
  
Logan handed her her suitecase and led her to the room he had rented for them. Max sat down on the bed and took off her shoes. Then she laid down and curled into a little ball. "Hold me Logan, just hold me."  
  
"Anything you want Max," he said. "Anything you want." 


	6. A Walk in the Park

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel, etc.  
  
A/N: Thanks again for all the great feedback. My job situation is getting crazier by the minute and an ex of mine decided this was the perfect time to show up and say exactly what I wanted to hear, so I'm a bit more distracted than normal. It's hard to write anything when you're never home, but I'll do my best to keep this going.  
  
To NiteMan(), you're comment about the woman I've referred to as Max's mother being nothing more than an incubator was obviously made by someone who has never known what it is like to carry a child inside you, or know the love of a child. Whether the egg Max came from was the woman's or not, the moment she reacted and cared about the child within her, she became her mother. This particular storyline wasn't mine, only the direction I've taken it. The writers for Dark Angel created that love in the second episode of the show. I fear for any child you may create in the future if that's how you feel.  
  
Now, back to my story.....  
  
Max awoke and felt Logan's arms around her, still holding her. She nuzzled her face into his chest then looked up at his face. She was suprised to see him awake. "Did I sleep long?"  
  
"Only a couple hours actually."  
  
"Wow, it feels like I've been asleep for years."  
  
"No, it's only about 5:30. I'm actually suprised to see you awake so soon, I figured we'd be here all night. I'm not complaining by the way," he said with a grin.  
  
"I'm sorry about earlier, really. It just felt like everything crashed down at once. In the past two and a half years it seems like for anything good that has happened, ten things have have happened to screw everything up. I still keep feeling like the other shoe is going to drop any minute."  
  
Logan hugged Max against him again. "I think the bad stuff has pretty much tappered off now. You know that right? The bad guys have pretty much all been done away with. You've got Lydecker locked in a room, White is dead, who's left to mess your life up now? Besides, how many more super villans can be out there after you?"  
  
"You have a point." Max rolled away from Logan and stood up. She smiled at him. "You hungry? 'Cause I'm starving."  
  
"I could eat. There are a couple restuarants within walking distance, care to take walk?"  
  
"Fine by me, let's go."  
  
Logan and Max left the hotel and walked down the sidewalk by the hotel. Max kept stealing glances at Logan until he finally noticed.  
  
"What is it Max?"  
  
"Do you have any idea how wonderful you are?"  
  
Logan smiled, "You think so? You're pretty awesome yourself Max. I would'nt even be here right now if it wasn't for you, or have you already forgotten?"  
  
"I'd forget if I could." Max looked around and noticed a park to there left. "Want to walk through there before we eat?"  
  
"If you won't die of starvation first, it sounds like a plan to me."  
  
They walked through the park hand in hand, both smiling.   
  
"You know Logan, most people don't end up falling in love with the person trying to rip them off. It just isn't natural."  
  
"Well, it seems perfectly natural to me. I wasn't expecting a thief that night, I thought you were there to kill me. It helped that you were the most beautiful thief I'd ever seen. Besides, I have no regrets."  
  
Max looked him up and down, "You sure about that?"  
  
"Max, I would have gotten shot that day whether or not I'd met you. You know that. Even if you'd been there, it might still have happened."  
  
"I know that now, but it doesn't change the facts any. Are you sure you want to be with someone who very well may have cost you so much?"  
  
Logan stopped, turning Max to face him. "Don't even think about it Max. I'm not going anywhere, and I'm not gonna let you even think about trying to run away again. Not now, not ever. I'm done with that. End of story."  
  
"I'm not trying to run Logan, I promise. I just think we should talk this through before we make anymore decisions. I met my mother today. I didn't even know for sure she was still alive until yesterday. I don't know if she'll ever be well enough for me to even know her. It just seems that everyone who is associated with me in anyway ends up hurting, one way or another. I want you to be sure that you want me in your life. The war appears to be over, but we don't know for sure."  
  
Logan sighed, "You're right. We don't know. I can't promise that Dr. Carr will be able to help your mother any more than Dr. Franklin has. I don't know if there is going to be another big bad coming after you anytime in the future. What I do know is that I haven't come this far with you to throw it all away on a 'what if?'. We were meant to be here, right now. I'm sure you're tired of hearing this, but the universe is right on schedule, and I think we're both stronger because of it."  
  
"I guess I can't argue with that logic. You never gave up on me. You let me go once, for some reason I just can't see you doing that again. If you're sure this all makes you happy, then I'm happy."  
  
"Good to hear Max, that's very good to hear." Logan's stomach took that moment to remind them both that they still hadn't eaten. "Now, let's go get some food."  
  
"Sounds good, let's go."  
  
Max stretched out on the king sized bed in their hotel room, listening to the shower running in the bathroom. She really was lucky to have Logan. He had to be a candidate for sainthood after all he'd dealt with since he'd met her. Max had no clue where she would be at that moment if it hadn't been for there chance meeting. Manticore might still be in existance, White and the conclave could have succeeded in destroying all of them, who knew? All Max did know was that she was finally contented in with life that she had.  
  
Logan turned off the water and reached for his towel. As he dried himself off he thought about how lucky he was to have found Max. All the other women in his life had really only been interested in him for his money, but Max was different. With her, the money he'd once had had almost cost him her. He knew that she felt guilty about the shooting, but he was glad that she hadn't been there. They most likely wouldn't be where they were if he hadn't been shot.   
  
He lifted his legs and set them outside the tub and pulled on his boxer shorts. The thought of putting the exoskeleton back on at that moment made him cringe. "Hey Max, can you come here for a minute?" He yelled. He heard her walk towards the bathroom. "Come on in, I need a small favor."  
  
"Whatcha need?"  
  
"I'm exhausted."  
  
"It's been a long day, so what do you need?"  
  
"I really, really don't want to put on that exoskelton just to go to bed. Do you think you could...?"  
  
Max knew that it had probably taking Logan everything in him to swallow his pride enough to ask her for this. "Yeah, I can do that."  
  
With that Max leaned over and picked Logan up. "Fireman's carry will be the easiest." She carried him into the main room and sat him down carefully on the bed, then went back into the bathroom and retrieved the exoskeleton and put it next to Logan's side of the bed. "See, having a genetically enhance super soldier for a girlfriend does have it's perks."  
  
Logan looked at Max. His face flushed with embarassment. "Yes, it does. Don't think I'm gonna start taking too much advantage of it now though. The damn thing is really heavy, wears me out."  
  
"Don't worry about it. I can understand tired. I'm so exhausted right now I may just sleep through the night."  
  
"Let's sleep then, we've got to be at the hospital early to sign the paperwork. Transportation will be here around 1pm to take Sarah back to Seattle, the sooner we're done, the sooner you can relax."  
  
"Relaxing sounds good." Max cuddled up next to Logan and drapped her arm over his chest. "Night Logan. I love you."  
  
"Love you too Max, goodnight." 


End file.
